BRUNO CARUSO WORKS

Bruno Caruso was an Italian painter, draftsman, engraver, and writer. He was born in Palermo in 1927. At just five years old, he began drawing and used art illustrations found in history books that his father kept in the family library for his exercises. After high school, he started traveling and had the opportunity to visit and admire the artworks of many important museums such as those in Vienna and Munich, places that introduced him to the works of George Grosz and Otto Dix, whom he would also meet in person.
At the end of the 1940s, he travels to Prague for the Festival of Youth. It is during this period that Bruno Caruso begins his work illustrating the works of Franz Kafka, perfecting the study and practice of etching. During this same period, he creates a series of drawings with the main theme being the Nazi occupation of the Prague Ghetto and the Jewish cemetery located in the capital of the Czech Republic.
In the years following the Second World War, Bruno Caruso graduated in Law and deepened his knowledge in the humanities. This passion led him to form a strong friendship with great authors of the Italian literary scene such as Elio Vittorini and Salvatore Quasimodo. He also began a wonderful collection of art books and works illustrated with original etchings or woodcuts, in addition to collecting many other works of various kinds such as Islamic manuscripts.
In the early 1950s, the Region of Sicily entrusted him with the project of printing the magazine "Sicilia" and at the same time he was involved in other publications. During his professional career, he formed further friendships with great poets such as Ungaretti and Sinisgalli, and many painters and photographers of the time like Fabrizio Clerici and Herbert List. Among his activities in the 1950s, we also mention his collaboration with choreographer Aurelio Millos for the staging of several ballets.
Regarding his painting activity, in these years Bruno Caruso creates a vast series of drawings that represent a strong denunciation of the Asylum in his city, Palermo. In this context, he leads a battle to demand the revision of psychiatry and is supported by Franco Basaglia. This event highlights how the artist has always been active in the fight against all forms of oppression and violence, and he expresses these sentiments through his works. Furthermore, his commitment to denouncing acts of corruption and the mafia in Sicily has always been constant.
His style starts from a very dry contour line that is considered a sort of legacy of the models that belonged to the European secessions and Art Nouveau. The formalism of such works, in fact, belonged to him since childhood, also thanks to the presence of Ducrot furniture in his native home. To these aspects, Bruno Caruso adds entirely personal scenographies that we could almost define as dreamlike and surreal, but which always seek a correspondence in reality and social criticism. His drawing with very fine lines is executed with extreme mastery, and this characteristic also belongs to his engravings and paintings.
The Seventies and Eighties, on the other hand, are dedicated to a greater reflection on the artistic production of the past, and Bruno Caruso does this through the publication of the volumes Le giornate della pittura, with a text by Leonardo Sciascia, and Mitologia dell'arte moderna. In both volumes, the history of art merges with a detailed and critical interpretation of ancient and more recent forms. This is especially the case with humorous and caricature drawings. The artist's production can therefore be defined as a heterogeneous catalog, with roots in the past and an ever-watchful eye on the present. His works contain various characteristics: ruthless, carnal, spectral, throbbing, graceful.
Bruno Caruso was also a highly esteemed illustrator of works of Italian and European literature, both from the 19th and 20th centuries. Among his most noteworthy works, we remember those related to the works of Kafka, Machiavelli, and his dear friend Ungaretti. His career was also recognized through important titles such as the honorary degree from the University of Palermo in Letters and Philosophy and the Gold Medal of Merit for Culture from the President of the Italian Republic.
In 2003, he also received the Premio Archimede from the Region of Sicily, which is awarded to Sicilian personalities who have distinguished themselves the most in the world.
Bruno Caruso passed away in Rome on November 4, 2018.